Re: Cavalier Attitude (Was Metal Rotor = Isolated Motor?)

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <Tesla729-at-cs-dot-com>

In a message dated 6/25/01 5:57:13 PM Central Daylight Time, tesla-at-pupman-dot-com 
writes: 


>
> Jim DeLillo by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" < 
> jimdel-at-bellatlantic-dot-net> 
>
> Jason, 
>
> I would think that you would have much more respect for electricity. 
>
> Mains voltage can be lethal.  Even though YOU hardly notice it all 
> anymore. 
>
> There is a range of current. I believe that it is between .75 and 1.00 
> milliamps which will stop the heart. ( I am sure somebody on the list 
> can quote this better).  The voltage almost doesn't matter even a mere 
> 12 volts will do the job and thats 1/10th standard mains voltage. 
>
> Along the same lines, I believe that there is a frequency that will also 
> trigger fibrillation of the heart, regardless of voltage. 
>



Jason, Jim, all 

I'm not sure about how much current it takes to stop your heart, 
I've heard 25 to 50 mA. I do know if the body's skin resistance is 
brought down low enough, it dosen't take much voltage at all to 
cause a noticable electric shock. 

Case in point: Last week I was changing out the starter on my 
old truck and I had to disconnect the terminals of the battery to 
burnish and clean off the battery terminals to get better contact, 
which of course is a must for the several hundred amps at only 
a few volts that are required to turn over the starter. Anyway, it 
was hot outside and naturally, I was sweating. I happened to 
touch the POS terminal of the battery while the sweaty forearm 
of my other arm was resting on a bare metal spot of the body of 
the truck. Well, needless to say, I quickly removed my forearm 
from the truck, as I got a very annoying tingle at that spot on my 
forearm :-( 

My point is a mere 12.96 volts (according to my DVM) from the 
battery was enough to give me a shock when the conditions were 
just right. Of course, sweat has a good deal of natural salt in it 
which yields to increased ionization and is a better conductor than 
plain tap water. So, I have to agree very strongly with Jim on this 
thread. 

BTW Jason, most MOTs put out around 2000 volts, which is less 
than 2500 volts, but this 2000 volts is positively deadly! Please do 
be careful with this stuff but if you're not going to be careful, then 
please don't tell us about it! No one on this list wants to see you 
end up seriously injuring or KILLING yourself from simple negle- 
gence and carelessness. Probably most of us have been "bit" a 
few times in  the past, it's all a part of the learning curve, but you'd 
better have your learning curve straightened out before you start 
messing with the lethal stuff. One mistake with an OBIT will be 
quite unpleasant, but you will live through it. One mistake with a 
pole pig, x-ray tranny, or PT and you're toast! It's that simple! 

And I'm sure the Feds would just love to get involved in "protect- 
ing" us coilers from ourselves. And the news media would certain- 
ly jump on a coil-related "accident" like a flock of vultures! If some- 
one gets zapped from there own stupidity, we may all end up suf- 
fering the consequences of one man's (or woman's) foolishness. 

So, like I said, if you absolutely refuse to be careful with electricity,   
do the rest of us coilers a favor and don't advertise it! Be careful and 
enjoy many years of an enjoyable hobby; be careless and we'll be 
reading about you! 

Keep it Sparkin' Safely, Please, 
David Rieben